Did you know?
I’ve been diving into my medicinal plant book that I bought years ago….
(Click on the picture to get your own copy).
Anyway, I was reading about the people that were consultants on this book. The first person I read about was Norman R. Farnsworth, Ph.D., Director, Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago. (There are quite a few more, I’ll list them another time.)
A quick google search gave me this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Farnsworth
Cited directly from Wikipedia:
“He received his bachelor’s in 1953 and master’s in 1955 in pharmacy at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, and his Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 1959, where he helped establish the Pharmacognosy Department, became its first chair, and taught until 1970.[1][2]
Military service
An army veteran of the Korean War, Farnsworth served as a Private First Class and eventually as a Corporal in the Third Infantry Division, Seventh Regimental Combat Team, nicknamed the “Fire Brigade” in Korea. He was seriously wounded in the winter of 1950. Because of his service during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, he received the Bronze Star Medal with a “V” device, which is the U. S. military’s fourth-highest award for valor. He was also awarded four oak leaf clusters, representative of four additional awards of the Bronze Star medal, the Combat Medical Badge, and the Korean Ribbon with Four Battle Stars.[2][3]
Career
He was a founding member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy in 1959. He was also the founding director of the Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago.[2]
From 1970 to 1982, he was the head of the Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmacology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In 1974, he traveled to China with the American Herbal Pharmacology Delegation, where they studied the practice of traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Afterwards, the National Academy of Sciences published “Herbal Pharmacology in the People’s Republic of China.”[2]
When computers were first coming onto the scene, Farnsworth created Natural Products Alert (NAPRALERT) in 1975. The NAPRALERT database was the first computerized collection on the research and science of natural products.[2]
Farnsworth was a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Advisory Panel on Traditional Medicine. He was also the director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine Programme at UIC’s College of Pharmacy.[2]
A pioneer in the field of pharmacognosy, Dr. Farnsworth was an honorary member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, an honorary member of the Society for Economic botany, an honorary member of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology, an honorary member of the French Pharmacognosy Society, and a member of the Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy.[1] He also received three honorary doctorates from University of Paris V (René Descartes), Uppsala University in Sweden, and his alma mater, the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Sciences.[1]
In 2005, the American Society of Pharmacognosy awarded him their Research Achievement Award.[4]”
Pharmacognosy is the study of crude drugs obtained from medicinal plants, animals, fungi and other natural sources. (Cited from here)
I read on about him, and he was a pioneer in the understanding of medicine derived from natural sources. Here’s another link dedicated to him, where you can read what others have written.
Please don’t misinterpret this post…I’m not completely against big pharma….I do take a couple of old school meds, that work and have helped me. But I don’t try new meds anymore, my body doesn’t like them, and if I can find a natural method, then I opt for that.
I’m re-reading through this book and finding that for ALMOST everything, there is a plant that can help us.
Men and women knew years ago that plants held the magic to cure. I think we should go back to the old ways and cut out synthetics.
I didn’t want this post to be just my opinion, which is why I cited directly from legit sources. You can do your own research…don’t take my word for it.
I see on tv pharma ads for new meds…but when I listen closely, they list a sh*t ton of side effects, death being one of them, in some cases. Yesterday they clearly stated that if a person took a certain medication, they were automatically put into some type of study group…but that wasn’t the word they used. I’m sorry I can’t remember, but if I see it again I’ll make note.
Spring is on the way…although my weather app says it’s 26, with a real feel of 11. If you see dandelions coming up in your yard…don’t kill them. They are the first thing bees and other emerging insects need to survive. This cold snap is crazy, as has the weather been all around the country. Leave your plants from last year, as insects use them as well during winter for protection.
I grow a big ‘ole parsley plant just for swallowtails…and did you know that caterpillars can create their own antifreeze if they don’t morph before winter? That allows them to survive until next season.
Here’s what they look like from caterpillar to butterfly. I took this video and watched the metamorphosis. So amazing.
Anyway… back to plants and pharma. Do some checking to see where your meds originated from….in the beginning, not in the lab. You might be surprised.
✌️
Shassy
keywords: medical plants, natural medicine, swallowtail butterfly, caterpillars, big pharma, did you know
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